Distribution center will be near Salt Lake

Osprey Packs will be expanding its local headquarters and relocating its distribution center to Utah in 2015, the company announced last week.

“The decision to relocate our distribution function to a transportation hub, such as the Wasatch Front, is an exciting and necessary move for Osprey,” said Tom Barney, CEO of Osprey Packs, in a written statement. The Wasatch Front is the metropolitan area of Utah, which includes Salt Lake City.

The company has been growing rapidly in recent years and in 2006 the started adding supplemental warehouse space in and around Cortez, said Barney.

The company plans for the new consolidated distribution center, which will be staffed by 20 people, to open by mid-2015. Some staff members will be relocating from Colorado, and some will be hired in Utah.

Currently, 17 people work for Osprey’s warehouses locally and all 17 will be offered incentives to move to the Salt Lake area, Barney said.

As part of the expansion, the company plans to convert warehouse space into offices in 2015, which will allow all the employees, who are part of headquarters to work in one building. The company also hopes to add a fitness center and some form of kitchen, which could allow local restaurants to serve meals for employees on a rotating basis.

Osprey employs 74 people locally and hopes to fill four positions soon. It also may add staff members to headquarters as it continues to expand, he said.

Currently, the company’s storage is spread over five warehouses, three in the industrial park and two within city limits.

Osprey Packs considered consolidating warehouse operations in Cortez, or moving to Long Beach, Calif., Phoenix, Kansas City and the Salt Lake City region, Barney said.

“We gave all these markets a good, fair shot,” he said.

Ultimately, the company decided on the modern and large warehousing market in the Wasatch Range. After the move, the company will use the national rail network for distribution, which will significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint. The company currently receives and distributes by truck.

Osprey also maintains a product development office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, near the factories where they manufacture their products and a design office in Mill Valley, Calif.

Barney said the company plans to keep headquarters in Cortez.

“There’s no wavering of our commitment,” Barney said.

The owner and founder of Osprey, Mike Pfotenhauer, and his wife, Diane Wren, also plan to move back to the Dolores area from California, he said.